Rudell Stitch

Over the course of a professional boxing career that included only 34 fights, Rudell won 27 matches – 13 by knockout. Between 1956 an 1960, the Louisville boxer earned his ranking as the number two welterweight in the world by battling a long list of opponents, including Isaac Logart, Luis Manuel Rodriguez and Gasper Ortega. His famous fight with Ortega in Madison Square Garden established Rudell’s reputation for sportsmanship when he stepped back and refused to take advantage of Ortega after the two clashed heads in the ring. At the height of his career in 1960, Rudell died while trying to save a friend from drowning in the Ohio River. Shortly after his death, the National Boxing Association created the Rudell Stitch Sportsmanship Award. And, he posthumously received a silver medal from the Carnegie Hero Fund – making him one of only four people to be awarded two Carnegie Hero Medals for risking his life to save another. For more information about Rudell, click here